What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
My entire life I have been encompassed in a bubble, sheltered from the atrocities of life. Only when I turned on the TV or occasionally visited India had I witnessed suffering. However, this all changed when I decided to volunteer at the Anaheim Health Fair last year, which is a free annual clinic set up by doctors at the Anaheim Convention to aid people who cannot afford healthcare or insurance. Coming in to set up at four in the morning, I was shocked to see that hundreds of people were lined up waiting to be seen. By the day's end I had come face-to-face with many who were either homeless, could not speak English, or unable to pay for healthcare. When I saw all those people waiting in line, many of whom left empty-handed, I struggled to come to grips with a harsh reality.
I left that day knowing that I wanted to continue helping out with this health fair, so my friends and I decided to start a Health and fitness club at our school. My main goal was to emphasize ways to stay healthy so I took the club’s message a step further by aiming for more accessible community healthcare. Since the inception of the club, I strove to get more students involved in volunteering at the Anaheim health fair. This led to me to start partnering with other clubs such as HOSA to get a bigger turnout at events.
By bringing together my desire to improve healthcare through The Health and Fitness Club, I was able to bring over fifteen student-volunteers to the event. Now as the next annual health fair approaches, more clubs and organizations from my campus have decided to join us to help people in need receive health care. My bubble was popped because of the Health fair, but it was a decision that I do not regret.While I recognize there is still a great deal that needs to be done to improve access to healthcare, I remain optimistic and determined to be a part of the process.